Nokia updates SSL software with auto failover features

Nokia is upgrading software for its Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) remote access appliances so they can fail over to one another and share configuration settings.

With Secure Access System 2.0 software, two of the boxes can be cabled together so if the primary one fails, the backup takes over after reestablishing the lost sessions. This auto failover makes it less frustrating for the remote user who doesn’t have to start all over again.

The new software also contains what Nokia calls Configuration Replication for businesses with more than one Nokia SSL gateway. The feature enables predetermined groups of gateways to share configuration and user settings. So if a new box is added to a network, it can receive the settings of others in its group.

Also, if an administrator updates the configuration or user settings for one gateway in a group, all the others will automatically synchronize with it, saving time for the administrator and avoiding possible errors that can be keyed in when settings are changed manually.

The 2.0 software supports a simplified sign-in that enables users to log on to the Nokia gateway and reach the servers it protects without logging in separately to those servers. The Nokia gear stores the server password the first time a user accesses a server. On subsequent attempts to access the same server, the Nokia box automatically issues the logon information on behalf of the end user when the end user calls for an application on the server.

None of these features is unique to Nokia, but fall among the set of features that are becoming the required list for credible SSL remote access equipment.

Secure Access System 2.0 is available June 28.